WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.480
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to Muckle Snuggle. Just close your eyes and listen.

2
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:12.039
<v Speaker 1>It's nigell Hear for another episode our quiet little corner

3
00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:16.199
<v Speaker 1>of the podcast world, the one design not to thrill

4
00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:22.960
<v Speaker 1>or excite, but to gently ease you towards sleep. There's

5
00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:25.920
<v Speaker 1>no rush to night, none at all. You can just

6
00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:30.239
<v Speaker 1>let the wait of the day settle, let your mind want,

7
00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.320
<v Speaker 1>and I will talk to you about a small silver object,

8
00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:37.679
<v Speaker 1>a lighter, some might say, though we both know it's

9
00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:42.479
<v Speaker 1>more than that. It's dumble Door's illuminator. And to night.

10
00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:47.840
<v Speaker 1>We're going to exploreer rather quiet theory, a little whisper

11
00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:52.119
<v Speaker 1>of an idea, really, that this helpful light giving gift

12
00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:57.679
<v Speaker 1>might have a darker purpose, a purpose perhaps that Dumbledore

13
00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:02.640
<v Speaker 1>himself barely acknowledge, or perhaps that he understood all too well.

14
00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:07.519
<v Speaker 1>Let start at the beginning, or rather at the end,

15
00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.879
<v Speaker 1>the end of the story, where we see it most clearly,

16
00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:19.840
<v Speaker 1>Chapter twenty nine of the Deathly Aloes, the Last Diadem,

17
00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:27.879
<v Speaker 1>Our dear dear Ron Weasley. He has returned. He has

18
00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:33.359
<v Speaker 1>spoken to the statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Prefect's bathroom,

19
00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:38.079
<v Speaker 1>and he is feeling quite brave. He and Harry and

20
00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:43.680
<v Speaker 1>Hermione are on the seventh floor, near the Room of Requirement,

21
00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:48.200
<v Speaker 1>trying to find a path to the hawk Rocks in

22
00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:54.200
<v Speaker 1>Ravenclaw Tower, and they are confronted by Alecto Gero. And

23
00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:59.040
<v Speaker 1>what does our roon do? He takes out the illuminator,

24
00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:05.799
<v Speaker 1>not to turn off a light, but two cast a spell.

25
00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:09.840
<v Speaker 1>It says in the book, and on paraphrasing from memory,

26
00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:14.719
<v Speaker 1>that Ron pointed it at her and said stupefy, And

27
00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.360
<v Speaker 1>a thin streak of silvery light shot out of it

28
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:21.800
<v Speaker 1>and hit her, and she fell over. The text is

29
00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:26.199
<v Speaker 1>very clear it was a beam of light from the illuminator,

30
00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.919
<v Speaker 1>not the act of taking light away, but of giving

31
00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:34.639
<v Speaker 1>it all, in this case, using it as a wand

32
00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:40.560
<v Speaker 1>perhaps a very specific, very potent Wand we are told

33
00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:45.360
<v Speaker 1>much earlier in The Deathly Hallows, chapter twenty one, the

34
00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:49.560
<v Speaker 1>Tale of the Three Brothers, that Dumbledore bequeathed it to

35
00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:54.800
<v Speaker 1>ron The inscription inside said to Ronald Weasley in the

36
00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:58.960
<v Speaker 1>hope that he remembers to put the lights out A joke,

37
00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.719
<v Speaker 1>a playful little nudge. But is that all it is.

38
00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:06.840
<v Speaker 1>Let your mind drift back, think about the object itself.

39
00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:12.280
<v Speaker 1>It is, in essence a small silver cylinder. We first

40
00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:16.960
<v Speaker 1>see it in The Philosopher's Stone, chapter nine, The Midnight Duel.

41
00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:21.080
<v Speaker 1>Harry is looking through his invisibility cloak. He is on

42
00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:25.319
<v Speaker 1>the first floor and he sees Dumbledore. And Dumbledore is

43
00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.719
<v Speaker 1>standing under a lamp post, and in his hand he

44
00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:33.919
<v Speaker 1>holds this device and he lights it, and then he

45
00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:38.560
<v Speaker 1>clicks it and the light vanishes. The lamp post goes dark,

46
00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:42.840
<v Speaker 1>and Dumbledore says to Harry, though he cannot see him,

47
00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:46.560
<v Speaker 1>I was wondering when i'd see you here. I don't

48
00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.039
<v Speaker 1>mind you leaving your dormitory at night, just try not

49
00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:54.360
<v Speaker 1>to wake your housemates. He is calm, he is expectant.

50
00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:59.479
<v Speaker 1>He has this object and he uses it to extinguish light.

51
00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:03.960
<v Speaker 1>That is its first and most obvious purpose, to put

52
00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:08.439
<v Speaker 1>out lights. But why why would a head master need

53
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:12.879
<v Speaker 1>such a thing to patrol the corridors in darkness? To

54
00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:17.759
<v Speaker 1>be stealthy? Perhaps, But Dumbledore is a master of magic.

55
00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:22.279
<v Speaker 1>He can cast a perfectly good silly sinio. He is

56
00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:27.519
<v Speaker 1>not short of one's. This object, this illuminator, is a

57
00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:33.480
<v Speaker 1>gift from Malbus Dumbledore, and it does something very particular.

58
00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:38.120
<v Speaker 1>It removes light and it can return it. We see

59
00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:42.000
<v Speaker 1>this In The Half Blood Prince chapter nine, The Half

60
00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:47.839
<v Speaker 1>Blood Prince, Harry is following Dumbledore's Silver Dough Patroness. He

61
00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:51.360
<v Speaker 1>is in a cave, a sea cave filled within fairy

62
00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:55.560
<v Speaker 1>and there is a light on the lake's surface coming

63
00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:59.680
<v Speaker 1>from the boat. And Dumbledore is weak, he is parched.

64
00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:02.839
<v Speaker 1>He has just drunk the potion in the basin, and

65
00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:07.560
<v Speaker 1>he asks Harry to take the locket, and then he

66
00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:11.199
<v Speaker 1>uses the illuminator. He points it at the light on

67
00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:16.120
<v Speaker 1>the water, and the light vanishes. It is pulled into

68
00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:22.800
<v Speaker 1>the illuminator. It is stored. He can take it and

69
00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.959
<v Speaker 1>give it back. This is not just turning off a

70
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:32.240
<v Speaker 1>light balm. It is capturing light, holding light. It is,

71
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:37.639
<v Speaker 1>in essence a container. Now let us consider the nature

72
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:44.160
<v Speaker 1>of magic objects. A wand chooses the wizard, we are told,

73
00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:49.920
<v Speaker 1>but the illuminator he seems to obey a deeper magic.

74
00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:54.600
<v Speaker 1>When Ron abandons Harry and Hermione in The Deathly Hollows

75
00:05:54.680 --> 00:06:00.720
<v Speaker 1>chapter fifteen, The Goblin's Revenge, he leaves the illumination to behind.

76
00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:04.680
<v Speaker 1>He cannot bear to part with it. It was the

77
00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:08.600
<v Speaker 1>last gift from Dumbledore. And yet when he is gone,

78
00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.879
<v Speaker 1>when he is away, the illuminator acts. It begins to

79
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:19.240
<v Speaker 1>emit sounds, It glows with a blue light coming from inside,

80
00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:25.279
<v Speaker 1>and it plays snippets of conversation. Ron hears Hermione's voice

81
00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:32.759
<v Speaker 1>saying his name, Ron, Come back, Come back Ron. It

82
00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:36.439
<v Speaker 1>shows him the path to return. It calls him home

83
00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:42.759
<v Speaker 1>chapter fifteen. Again, a faint echo of Hermione's voice whispered

84
00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:47.639
<v Speaker 1>his name Ron. The illuminator gave off a soft blue light,

85
00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:51.160
<v Speaker 1>Come back Ron. It was as though a tiny voice

86
00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:54.800
<v Speaker 1>was calling to him from inside the silver ball. This

87
00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:59.959
<v Speaker 1>is extraordinary, a magical ubject that can record sound, emit life,

88
00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:03.839
<v Speaker 1>and guide its owner back to a specific place. It

89
00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.319
<v Speaker 1>is sentient in a way. It has a purpose. Its

90
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:12.120
<v Speaker 1>purpose is to reunite, to bring people together, to shed

91
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.399
<v Speaker 1>light on the path. This is where our sleepy theory

92
00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:19.319
<v Speaker 1>begins to form. This object does not merely take and

93
00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:24.199
<v Speaker 1>give light. It directs it. It calls to people, It

94
00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:28.399
<v Speaker 1>guides them, It connects them and Dumbledore, the original owner

95
00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.759
<v Speaker 1>used it constantly. We see him in the Pensive Memory

96
00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:36.759
<v Speaker 1>from chapter two of The Half Blood Prince Spinner's end.

97
00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:41.040
<v Speaker 1>He is discussing the cave with Harry. He says, I

98
00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:45.240
<v Speaker 1>shall need to go back there with you, and he

99
00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:49.680
<v Speaker 1>takes out the illuminator. He shows it to Harry. He

100
00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:54.279
<v Speaker 1>clicks it, the lights in the office go out. Then

101
00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:58.279
<v Speaker 1>he clicks it again and they come back on. He

102
00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:03.399
<v Speaker 1>is demonstrating, he is showing Harry how it works. It

103
00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:09.439
<v Speaker 1>is a tool, a tool of passage, perhaps of navigate.

104
00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.279
<v Speaker 1>Now let us consider the man who made it or

105
00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:18.800
<v Speaker 1>the man who gave it, Dumbledore. His character is layered

106
00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:23.639
<v Speaker 1>with complexity. He says in The Deathly Hallows, chapter thirty

107
00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:28.120
<v Speaker 1>five King's Cross, that he was not so different from you.

108
00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:33.240
<v Speaker 1>He had ambitions. He had a thirst for power, not

109
00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:36.960
<v Speaker 1>for its own sake, but to impose a benevolent order.

110
00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.879
<v Speaker 1>I had proven as a very young man that power

111
00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:46.519
<v Speaker 1>was my weakness and my temptation. He sought to unite

112
00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:51.120
<v Speaker 1>the wizarding world. He sought to end the separation of

113
00:08:51.279 --> 00:09:01.399
<v Speaker 1>magical communities. He wanted connection, a world without barriers, world illuminated.

114
00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.679
<v Speaker 1>And what does the illuminator do? It takes away light. Yes,

115
00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:11.879
<v Speaker 1>it creates darkness. It removes a barrier of sight. It

116
00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:16.639
<v Speaker 1>allows one to move unseen, unheard. It is a tool

117
00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:21.080
<v Speaker 1>of stealth, a tool for a spy or a leader

118
00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:24.919
<v Speaker 1>who needs to observe from the shadows. But more than that,

119
00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:29.600
<v Speaker 1>it creates a bond. It calls to its owner. It

120
00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:33.200
<v Speaker 1>ensures that you can always find your way back to

121
00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:37.279
<v Speaker 1>the light. To the people who matter. It is a

122
00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:44.120
<v Speaker 1>tool for guidance, for leadership. Let us explore this idea

123
00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:49.840
<v Speaker 1>of guidance. Dumbledore gives it to Ron. Why Ron, of

124
00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:55.720
<v Speaker 1>all people, not Harry who needed it more, perhaps not Hermione,

125
00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:59.639
<v Speaker 1>who was more loyal. Dumbledore gives it to Ron, the

126
00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:05.360
<v Speaker 1>boy you left, the boy who abandoned his friends. Why

127
00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:10.720
<v Speaker 1>Because Dumbledore understood something. He understood that people sometimes need

128
00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:16.000
<v Speaker 1>to leave, to wander in darkness, to feel last, and

129
00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:20.000
<v Speaker 1>they need a way back, a gentle, quiet way back.

130
00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:26.159
<v Speaker 1>Not a command, not a summoning charm, but a whisper,

131
00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:33.559
<v Speaker 1>a pull, a blue glow from a pocket, a familiar voice.

132
00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:40.159
<v Speaker 1>The Illuminator is, in its essence, an object of forgiveness,

133
00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:45.159
<v Speaker 1>of home coming. It is an instrument of Dumbledore's own

134
00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:50.080
<v Speaker 1>philosophy that people make mistakes, but they can be guided

135
00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:53.679
<v Speaker 1>back to the light. There is no rush to judge,

136
00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:58.679
<v Speaker 1>just a light waiting to be rekindled. This brings us

137
00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:02.759
<v Speaker 1>to another angle the Illuminator's function in the larger story,

138
00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:08.159
<v Speaker 1>it is a deathly hallow, or it is a gift

139
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.600
<v Speaker 1>from Dumbledore, who possessed two of the hallows. He was

140
00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.320
<v Speaker 1>the master of death in a way, and he gives

141
00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.559
<v Speaker 1>wrong the one object that defies death. In a metaphorical sense,

142
00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:25.639
<v Speaker 1>it calls you back from the brink of isolation. It

143
00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:29.600
<v Speaker 1>saves you from the darkness of your own making. Ron

144
00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:33.960
<v Speaker 1>In Leaving was plunging himself into a kind of emotional darkness.

145
00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:40.840
<v Speaker 1>The illuminator was his lifeline. It was Dumbledore's gentle, posthumous

146
00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:46.720
<v Speaker 1>hand guiding him home. But the theory goes deeper. What

147
00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:50.440
<v Speaker 1>if the illuminator's ability to take light is not just

148
00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:56.080
<v Speaker 1>for stealth, What if it is for preservation or for study.

149
00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:01.600
<v Speaker 1>We know Dumbledore had the illuminator for decades, from before

150
00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.799
<v Speaker 1>Harry was born. He used it, He walked the corridors,

151
00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:11.320
<v Speaker 1>clicking lights on and off. Why was he simply testing

152
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.559
<v Speaker 1>it or was he gathering light? Is it possible that

153
00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:20.799
<v Speaker 1>the light it takes is not simply extinguished, but contained,

154
00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:25.039
<v Speaker 1>and that the containing of that light, that ambient magic,

155
00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:30.080
<v Speaker 1>that essence of the place, could be used for something else.

156
00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.000
<v Speaker 1>Think of the Marauder's map. It shows you every person,

157
00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:38.759
<v Speaker 1>every secret. It is a tool of surveillance. The illuminator

158
00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.440
<v Speaker 1>could be seen in a similar light, though much more subtly.

159
00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:47.240
<v Speaker 1>By removing the light from a specific corridor, a specific room,

160
00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:51.240
<v Speaker 1>you could leave a mark, a magical mark, a pattern

161
00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:54.879
<v Speaker 1>of darkness her coat, visible only to the one who

162
00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:59.919
<v Speaker 1>holds the illuminator. Dumbledore, in his endless plotting his chest

163
00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:04.360
<v Speaker 1>games with Voldemort, might have used it to leave hidden messages,

164
00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:09.559
<v Speaker 1>to mark safe paths, to signal to his order of

165
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:13.279
<v Speaker 1>the Phoenix. The light is out in the east corridor.

166
00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:19.320
<v Speaker 1>It is safe for the light is on danger. It

167
00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:24.000
<v Speaker 1>would be a silent invisible communications as it This is

168
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:29.639
<v Speaker 1>of course pure speculation, but it fits. It fits the

169
00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:34.360
<v Speaker 1>character of Dumbledore, the meticulous planner, the man who left

170
00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.519
<v Speaker 1>a trail of clues for Harry, a treasure hunt for

171
00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.279
<v Speaker 1>a hall CrOx. The illuminator would be a perfect tool

172
00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:46.000
<v Speaker 1>for such a man. It is small, innocent, a joke gift,

173
00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.000
<v Speaker 1>but it is in fact a sophisticated instrument of communication

174
00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:54.519
<v Speaker 1>and guidance. It calls its owner home. It can perhaps

175
00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:59.000
<v Speaker 1>call others to a location. Remember when it called Ron,

176
00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:03.320
<v Speaker 1>It played Hermione's voice. It did not just make a sound,

177
00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:10.919
<v Speaker 1>It replayed memory, a piece of lost time. It preserved

178
00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:14.600
<v Speaker 1>a moment of connection. Let us think about that. It

179
00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.399
<v Speaker 1>preserves connection. Tumble door in the mirror of Erist saw

180
00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:25.360
<v Speaker 1>his family whole and restored. He was obsessed with connection,

181
00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:30.320
<v Speaker 1>with mending what was broken. The deliminator as a device

182
00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:34.240
<v Speaker 1>for mending. It mends the path for a lost friend.

183
00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:40.360
<v Speaker 1>It mends the darkness by reintroducing light. It takes a

184
00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:44.879
<v Speaker 1>fragmented moment of speech Ron come back and makes it

185
00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:48.039
<v Speaker 1>all and clear again. It is an artifact of repair.

186
00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:52.759
<v Speaker 1>Now what is the darker purpose? The theory suggests that

187
00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:56.679
<v Speaker 1>its purpose is not merely helpful. It is controlling. It

188
00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:01.919
<v Speaker 1>is manipulative. By giving it to Ron, Dumbledore ensured that

189
00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:06.799
<v Speaker 1>Ron would return. He ensured the trio would be reunited.

190
00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:11.559
<v Speaker 1>He needed Harry to have his friends. He needed Ron

191
00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:16.240
<v Speaker 1>for the sake of his loyalty, his heart, his family's connections.

192
00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:21.679
<v Speaker 1>The illuminator was a fail safe, a magical insurance policy

193
00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:25.679
<v Speaker 1>to keep Harry Potter on the correct path. It is

194
00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:30.519
<v Speaker 1>a gentle chain, a loving Dumbledore from beyond the grave

195
00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:35.080
<v Speaker 1>using a small silver lighter to guide the footsteps of

196
00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:39.919
<v Speaker 1>a teenager. Is that not a darker purpose? To influence

197
00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:44.919
<v Speaker 1>the living so precisely from the after life, and it

198
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.320
<v Speaker 1>does more. In the final battle. It is used as

199
00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.399
<v Speaker 1>a weapon to cast stupefy. It is revealed to be

200
00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:56.159
<v Speaker 1>a wand or something like it. This is something we

201
00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:00.320
<v Speaker 1>never learned. We never saw a use this way. It

202
00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:04.879
<v Speaker 1>is a surprise, and Dumbledore never told ron He left

203
00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:09.639
<v Speaker 1>it as a hidden feature. Why to protect him, to

204
00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:13.320
<v Speaker 1>give him an advantage when he least expected it. Another

205
00:16:13.399 --> 00:16:17.960
<v Speaker 1>layer of planning, another gift of hidden power. The Illuminator

206
00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:21.120
<v Speaker 1>is not just a guide, it is a secret guardian.

207
00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:26.279
<v Speaker 1>We must also consider what contradicts this. Dumbledore's will was

208
00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:31.120
<v Speaker 1>explicit to Ronald Weasley in the hope that he remembers

209
00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:35.720
<v Speaker 1>to put the lights out, a reminder of duty, perhaps

210
00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:41.519
<v Speaker 1>a reminder of simple small acts of kindness, to not

211
00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.960
<v Speaker 1>leave the lights burning when you go to sleep, to

212
00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:49.399
<v Speaker 1>be mindful. It could be seen as a simple moral lesson,

213
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:55.759
<v Speaker 1>not a tool of manipulation. But Dumbledore's words are always layered.

214
00:16:56.440 --> 00:17:02.639
<v Speaker 1>The simplest explanation is rarely the full one. Furthermore, Dundledore

215
00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:06.559
<v Speaker 1>was not a controlling person in a harsh sense. He

216
00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:11.599
<v Speaker 1>gave people choice. He allowed them to make mistakes, Harry

217
00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:15.240
<v Speaker 1>had to choose to destroy the hawkruxes Ron had to

218
00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:19.599
<v Speaker 1>choose to leave and then choose to come back. The

219
00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:24.880
<v Speaker 1>illuminator did not force him. It merely suggested. It opened

220
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.839
<v Speaker 1>a door, It played a memory. The choice to follow

221
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.880
<v Speaker 1>the light was still runs. This is the brilliance of it.

222
00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:39.279
<v Speaker 1>It is influence without compulsion, guidance without domination. It is

223
00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:43.039
<v Speaker 1>the mark of a true leader or a true manipulator.

224
00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:48.640
<v Speaker 1>Let us drift into the wider magical concepts. The illuminator

225
00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:53.480
<v Speaker 1>manipulates light, but light in the Harry Potter universe is

226
00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:57.839
<v Speaker 1>tied to powerful magic. Patronesses are made of light. They

227
00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:03.720
<v Speaker 1>are positive energy, hope, memory. The illuminator consumes light, It

228
00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:08.279
<v Speaker 1>does not create it. It takes ambient light and holds it,

229
00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:12.000
<v Speaker 1>and then it gives it back. It is a reservoir.

230
00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:17.160
<v Speaker 1>Like Potronus is a reservoir of happiness. The dilumatase is

231
00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:22.200
<v Speaker 1>a reservoir of environmental magic, of the energy of a place,

232
00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:25.920
<v Speaker 1>and it can be directed. It can be focussed into

233
00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:30.640
<v Speaker 1>a beam to stupefy some one. This suggests it is

234
00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:33.759
<v Speaker 1>not just a light based object. It is a roar

235
00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:38.759
<v Speaker 1>magic object yields in fundamental forces and what of the

236
00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:42.519
<v Speaker 1>darker purpose in this? If it stores the essence of

237
00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:45.960
<v Speaker 1>a place, could it also store the essence of a person.

238
00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:50.079
<v Speaker 1>We hear Ron's voice in it. But it is a recording,

239
00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:55.759
<v Speaker 1>a playback. Could it potentially hold more? Could it be

240
00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.240
<v Speaker 1>used to trap a soul fragment not a hawk rocks,

241
00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:05.519
<v Speaker 1>perhaps an echo? This is very dark speculation. But if

242
00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.880
<v Speaker 1>it can replay a voice from across a distance, it

243
00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:12.440
<v Speaker 1>has a connection to the speaker. It is a two

244
00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:17.480
<v Speaker 1>way link. The illuminator in Run's pocket is connected to

245
00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:24.160
<v Speaker 1>Hermione's voice. It is a magical tether. Dumbledore, with his

246
00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:26.920
<v Speaker 1>mastery of magic, could have used such a tether for

247
00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:37.079
<v Speaker 1>many things, for monitoring, for protection, for control. This theory,

248
00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:41.400
<v Speaker 1>the theory of the darker purpose, rests on the idea

249
00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:46.880
<v Speaker 1>that Dumbledore was always playing a game, a long, slow game,

250
00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:51.319
<v Speaker 1>and the illuminator was one of his most important pieces,

251
00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.680
<v Speaker 1>not a piece on a board, but a piece that

252
00:19:55.839 --> 00:20:00.440
<v Speaker 1>guided other pieces. It was his way of exerting gentle

253
00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:06.640
<v Speaker 1>posthumous influence over events, ensuring the prophecy could be fulfilled,

254
00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:11.240
<v Speaker 1>ensuring Harry had what he needed, even if what he

255
00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.160
<v Speaker 1>needed was to be subtly pushed back onto the path

256
00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.240
<v Speaker 1>by a silver lighter in his best friend's pocket. It

257
00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:20.119
<v Speaker 1>is a lot to consider the layers of meaning in

258
00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:24.279
<v Speaker 1>a small object, the quiet manipulation in a loving gift,

259
00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:29.759
<v Speaker 1>the darkness of guidance. Let your mind settle on that Dumbledore,

260
00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:34.200
<v Speaker 1>the old puppet master, pulling strings from beyond the grave.

261
00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.160
<v Speaker 1>But perhaps it was not so cold. Perhaps it was

262
00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.319
<v Speaker 1>the only way he knew how to love, to protect,

263
00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:45.920
<v Speaker 1>to guide, to take away the lights, and then, when

264
00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:49.720
<v Speaker 1>the time was right, to gently put them back. We

265
00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:56.039
<v Speaker 1>have wandered through several paths tonight, the illuminator as a

266
00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:01.079
<v Speaker 1>tool of stealth, as a container of life, light as

267
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:06.200
<v Speaker 1>a guide for the last, as a weapon of last resort,

268
00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:12.400
<v Speaker 1>as a device of surveillance, and communication, as an instrument

269
00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:18.839
<v Speaker 1>of manipulation. Each one a thread in the tapestry, each

270
00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:23.079
<v Speaker 1>one supported by a small, quiet detail from the books,

271
00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:27.559
<v Speaker 1>a click in a corridor, a voice in a pocket,

272
00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:32.079
<v Speaker 1>a beam of light in a dark room. The theory

273
00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:35.880
<v Speaker 1>that it has a darker purpose is not about evil.

274
00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:39.039
<v Speaker 1>It is about the shade of gray that Dumbledore left

275
00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:44.680
<v Speaker 1>in the necessity of manipulation for the greater good. The

276
00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:49.480
<v Speaker 1>dark purpose is simply purpose beyond the obvious. A purpose

277
00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:54.720
<v Speaker 1>that includes guidance, yes, but also control, a purpose that

278
00:21:54.799 --> 00:22:00.640
<v Speaker 1>includes homecoming, but also surveillance, a purpose that includes giveness

279
00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:04.480
<v Speaker 1>but also strategy. And in the end, what does it matter?

280
00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:09.839
<v Speaker 1>The object worked wrong, came back, the lights were put out,

281
00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:14.279
<v Speaker 1>and then they were turned back on. The story moved forward,

282
00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:19.519
<v Speaker 1>and we here in the quiet can simply marvel at

283
00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:23.319
<v Speaker 1>the depth of it all, at the thought that even

284
00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.880
<v Speaker 1>the smallest gift in a story like this can hold

285
00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:34.599
<v Speaker 1>so much weight, so many possibilities. Let that thought just drift,

286
00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:38.599
<v Speaker 1>like a mote of dust in a sunbeam that is

287
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:44.960
<v Speaker 1>suddenly captured and held inside a small silver cylinder. The

288
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:50.480
<v Speaker 1>weight of all those stories, all those quiet intentions, it

289
00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:54.079
<v Speaker 1>is quite tiring, really to think about, all the planning,

290
00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:59.200
<v Speaker 1>all the careful steps. It is enough to make one

291
00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:03.799
<v Speaker 1>want to simply close one's eyes and let it all go.

292
00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:10.680
<v Speaker 1>The theories can wait for another day, the questions can remain unanswered.

293
00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:16.839
<v Speaker 1>You have done well to listen for so long, to

294
00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:22.039
<v Speaker 1>follow such a winding, quiet path. There is nothing more

295
00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:26.279
<v Speaker 1>aquiet of you now, just the simple act of rest,

296
00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:33.000
<v Speaker 1>of letting the world go dark, intentionally clicking off the

297
00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:38.640
<v Speaker 1>lights one by one. So now close your eyes now,

298
00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:42.440
<v Speaker 1>sleep well, good night,